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Topic
A conversation with 2 of the authors of a new research report on how labour market could evolve by 2030.
Context and drivers behind the “Ahead by a Decade” research
Occupations that are forecast to change
Which skills are foundational for the workforce of the future
Insights:
over a third of employed people in Canada are in occupations that are projected to change.
15% of people employed in Canada are in occupations that are, that are projected to decline
The occupations that are projected to increase require a certain amount of technical expertise and a certain amount of creativity and the ability to help others - which is not that common
Foundational skills are those that have a positive influence on an occupation’s probability of growth
The five foundational skills are: fluency of ideas, memorization, instructing, persuasion, and service orientation
The first two are cognitive abilities, the next three are social skills, and all prove highly relevant across occupations
The two cognitive skills represent two sides of a long-standing debate in education: should we be teaching our kids creativity and thinking outside of the box? Or should we be focusing on information recall? The model pointed out that you don't need to pick one or the other that you need
On memorization: if you're a knowledge worker, you spend a lot of time absorbing information and you don't realize it could be a skill, i.e. some people are better at it than others, and this is something that can be developed
Men are more likely to be in a declining occupations than women and slightly more likely to be growing occupations than women -
Among Canada's immigrants, first-generation immigrants are more likely to be in an occupation projected to grow, but also more likely to be unemployed.